George e



(No Model.)

G. E. DIXON.

PIPE INSULATOR.

Patented Aug. 30, 1892.

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In Men/1 494W ULL-1765565.'

Nrrnn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. DIXON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT WEBSTER CALDWELL, OF SAME PLACE.

PIPE-INSULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,899, dated August 30, 1892.

Application filed March 1, 1892.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. DIXON, a citizen of Great Britain, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pipe-Insulators, of which the following is a specication.

In equipping a building with a steam or hotwater plant for heating or other purposes it is desirable wherever a pipe passes through a partition of the buildin g-c. g., a door or wallto place around it a sleeve which is of somewhat greater diameter than the pipe itself and has its ends open, so as to permit the passage of air through it. rlhe object of this is to prevent the air within the partition-6. g., between the floor and ceiling-from becoming unduly heated. As the thickness of partitions varies, so the length of these insulating-sleeves must also vary, and sleeves having means for adjusting' them in length have heretofore been provided. To improve the construction of these adjustable insulatingsleeves is one of the objects of the present invention.

It is customary to place around the pipe and against the partition a collar, which conceals the hole through which the pipe passes and gives the work a finished appearance. Since the pipe is subject to considerable endwise movement, due to expansion and contraction under variations in temperature, the collar cannot be secured to it, because if it is its position will change from time to time, so that at one time it will be some distance from the partition, while at another it will be embedded in it.

It has heretofore been proposed to secure the collar to the insulating-sleeve, and this is whatI do, the object of the present invention, so far as this feature is concerned, being to improve the manner of attaching the collar to the sleeve.

The present invention consists in certain features of novelty that are particularly pointed out in the claims hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the improved insulator and a section of a partition to which it is secured, the position of the pipe to be insu- Serial No. 423,393. (No model.)

lated being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an elevation of said insulator. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thereof on the line 3 3, looking downward. Fig. 4. is a horizontal section showing a modification. Figs. 5 and 6 are sections of fragments of parts of modified construction.

'Ihe improved insulator is equally applicable to all partitions, whatever may be their positions; but in this specification I will describe its application to a horizontal partition-z'. c., the iioor of a building.

A represents the floor proper, and B the ceiling, through each of which is an opening C. To the fioor is secured a ring D, (hereinafter called, for the sake of distinction, the floorring,) having a flange d, which projects into the opening C, and to this flange is riveted or otherwise suitably secured a sleeve E, which is preferably made of sheet metal and has in its sides, near the bottom, openings e for admitting the engaging ends of detents F, which preferably consist of spring-plates riveted to thel sleeve E and having their ends bent inward, as at f.

G is a second sleeve, which is preferably of cast metal and has upon its sides in positions corresponding to the positions of the detents racks H, with which said detents engage, whereby the two sleeves may be held together; The teeth of these racks do not extend entirely around the sleeve, but are arranged in two longitudinal rows, and instead of being formed by lugs projecting out beyond the plane of the sleeve they are the result notches or indentations, so that they are all within said plane. The notches terminate abruptly at one end, resulting in shoulders I, which constitute stops for preventing the two sleeves from turning relatively to each other in the directions of the arrows a: after the detents have engaged the racks and come in contact with the stops. At the other end the notches and teeth merge with the outer surface of the sleeve, so that by turning the two sleeves relatively to each other in a direction opposite to the arrows the detents will be disengaged from the teeth and brought to bear upon the plane surface of the sleeve G, whereupon the two sleeves may be drawn apart. By this arrangement the length of the two- IOO part sleeve may be varied within the range of the racks, so as to adapt the insulator for use in partitions differing in thickness. Fig. 1 shows the insulator contracted to its limit, and Fig. 2 shows it slightly lengthened.

.I is the ceiling-collar, which maybe cast with the sleeve G; but I prefer to form itseparate and provide it with spring-detents K, that are adapted to engage a rack L, consisting of a number of parallel circumferential ribs or teeth formed on the lower part of the sleeve. By making the ceiling-collar adjustable the utility of the insulator is increased, as greater variations in the thickness of par.- titions can be compensated for than where thesaid collar andsleeve are integral. y For example, Fig. l shows the insulator contracted to its limit. If the partition were narrower and the sleeve G and .ceiling-collar integral, the insulator would not be available; butsaid collar being adjustable the insulatoris available for partitions that are even narrowerwithin the range of the rack L. Furthermore, the teethlof the rack L are closer togetl'ier than are the teeth of the rack I-Lwhereby the ceiling-collar'can be fitted with more exactness than it could be if only the rack II were used. The teeth ofthe rack L may be round, as shown by Figs. l and 2, or angular and sloping equally on both sides, as shown by Fig. 5,

or of anyvother desired shape; but I prefer to make them of such shape that the d'etents K Y will slide over them inM either direction. `For this` reason I prefer, also, to form said detente of, spring-plates having their engaging ends perpendicular to the sleeve. Instead of eo'ntinuingthe` teeth entirelgy7 around the sleeve, two rows of teeth L and stops I', like the teeth H andl stops I, may be used,`as shown by Fig. 4. As a further modification, the stops I I maybe omitted, as shown by Fig. 6. Preferably the teeth H slope on one side and on the other are perpendicular to the sleeve; but this is not essential. 'lhey may slope equally on both sides, as shown by Fig. 5, or they may be round, as shown at L, or ofany other suitable shape. Furthermore, they may extend completely around the sleeve, in which case they should be of such shape that the detents F can be made to slip over them in both direetions. When the teeth do not extend completely around the sleeve, the number of racks may be either increased or decreased; but two are preferred.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to make theceiling-collar y. adjustable on the sleeve by which it is supported.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

. l. In a pipe-insulator, the combination of two sleeves, a detent carried by one of said sleeves, and a rack extending only partly aroundthe other, said sleeves being capable of relative rotation and said detent being adapted to be forced outward, and thereby disengaged from the raek,`by,the relative rotation of the sleeves", substantially as set forth.

2. In a pipe-insulator, the combination of two sleeves, a dete'nt carried by one of said sleeves', and a rack extending only partly aro'undthe other, the surfaces between the teeth of the rack merging with the surface ol the sleeve, substantially as set forth. l 1 A 3. In pipe-insulatonthe combination of twosleeves, a detent carried by one of said sleeves', and a rack extending only partly around the other, the notches or depressiohs between the teeth of said rack terminating abruptly at one end, forming shouldersadapted to4 engage "said detent and limit the relative rotation of said sleeves, and at the other` end `merging with the surface o'f the sleeve, substantially as set,fo`rth. x Y

4'. In a pipe-insulator, the combination o'f a pair of sleeves, a rack on one of said sleeves, a detent carried by the other and adapted to engage said rack, a second rack on one of the sleeves, and a collaradju'stable on said second rack, the teeth Yof the second rack being closer together than the teeth of the firstnamed rack, substantially as set forth.

y5. In a pipe-insulator, the combination of the floor-ring D, the sleeve E, secured thereto, a detent carried by said sleeve, the sleeve G,

having racks II and L, and the ring J, adjustable on the rack L, substantially as set forth.

GEORGE E. DIXON. Witnesses:

A. J. CALDWELL, L. M. HOPKINS. 

